Editors’ Note: We have added a handicapping section. Rather than try and pick every race on the card, we will select a feature race of the day and give you our thoughts and selections. Heather is more of an exotic player while Ted is more of a straight win/place, exacta kind of bettor so you’ll get some perspective from both angles. We hope you enjoy and, perhaps, profit a little as well!

Today’s Race: $75,000 Ed Skinner Memorial Stakes, Prairie Meadows Race 8

Heather’s View:

Delaunay (2) – Hard trying 8-year old gelding has 4 stakes wins in the last 2 seasons including a grade 3. Should lay off the early pace and get first run at the frontrunners.

Helookstheapart (3) – There is enough speed in the race that this horse under a hot jockey should come flying late to get a piece.

Luv Bandit (4) – A Stiritz/Becker horse coming off a stakes win at Hawthorne. He also should be coming late and is probably a notch below Delaunay and Broadway Empire.

Broadway Empire (5) – The other graded stakes winner has had a bit of a breather coming into this one and heads south from Canterbury for trainer Robertino Diodoro. There may be enough early speed to soften him up but good enough to share in the exotics.

Trifecta Box 2-4-5; Super box 2-3-4-5

Ted’s View: On paper it looks like a two horse race between 2 graded stakes winners: Delaunay (2) and Broadway Empire (5). Both have similar styles and would like to be at or near the lead, not unusual in a sprint but could be trouble if they both insist on the lead.

There are a couple of reasons to prefer Delaunay in here. He seems to have a better ability to rate and has a pair of seconds in two trips over the racetrack. After a breather late summer and fall last season, he came back and reeled off a pair of stakes wins at the Fairgrounds. Though his last two races he wasn’t able to win but did manage to hit the board. His speed figures, though, show a bit of a let down from those winning effort.

WP 2; Exactas 2/3, 5